CRACKAZAT – Explanation EP
Ben Jacobs aka Crackazat is a musician, arranger and producer born and bred in Bristol, but now recently relocated to Uppsala, Sweden. An accomplished jazz instrumentalist, Jacobs’ talent for a finely constructed groove has previously been shown on remixes for Rekordah and Dorian Concept’s JSBL – along with the lob-sided synth-funk of ‘Party in the Clouds’, which featured on Astro:Dynamics’ inaugural various artist compilation, amongst works from the likes of Lukid, BNJMN, Mike Slott and Subeena.
On this Explanation EP, his first solo record, Crackazat immediately shows his ability with structure and groove on the title track – ‘Explanation’ is 7 and a half minutes of cosmically-charged, driving and elegant electronic funk. On ‘Implication‘ Jacobs flips ‘Explanation’ breaking it down to it’s core elements, upping the dreamy pads and switching up the bass-line for a silky afterhours aesthetic.
Loop de Loop is one for the beat-heads. One of Crackazat’s older (yet no less potent) productions, Loop de Loop was originally ear-marked for Beat Dimensions’ second volume. Sloping beats and supercharged synth washes combine perfectly on this zoned-out and zapped instrumental. Carrying on the theme from the first half of the EP, Jacobs switches up the base elements for the reprise, this time choosing to remove the scatter-brained synths and percussion and go with an acoustic take on the original – adding jazzy guitar chords and a double-bass.
